European Tour and celebrity invitations are being accepted, and regional qualifiers are being played leading up to what is set to be the biggest and best British Par 3 Championship ever!
Satellite broadcasters, Setanta Sports have confirmed their coverage of this years’ event.
To book one of the final places to play at the British Par 3 Championship or to purchase spectator tickets call the British Par 3 team at Champions on 08453313031 or email BP3@championsukplc.com
Scott Strange won his first European Tour event yesterday with an amazing 22 under at the Wales Open at Celtic Manor.
The 31-year-old from Perth Australia finished on a total of 262, four shots clear of the inform Swedish giant, Robert Karlsson.
But Strange & Karlsson weren’t the only golfers to breeze round the course. There were quite a few low scoring rounds over the four rounds.
The low scoring rounds has caused some concerns as the Celtic Manor course is due to host the 2010 Ryder Cup. Course officials and Ryder Cup organisers have stated the the course will necessarily be adjusted to be more testing.
22-under par means Scott Strange beats Ian Poulter’s record for the lowest total by four strokes. Even more remarkable when you consider Strange had almost collapsed following a dizzy turn on the 15th hole in round 3.
Strange received a cheque for £300,000.
Darren Clarke was the the biggest name left in the Welsh Open after Padraig Harrington fialed to make the cut. Clarke finished on five-under-par 66 to tie for fourth place.
Carly Booth appears to have the golfing world at her feet. After being compared to Michelle Wie and being touted as the ‘female Tiger Woods’, the talented Scot has recently become the youngest player ever to represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup at just 15 years of age.
Her achievements to date include winning the European Young Masters in 2007 and emerging victorious in the Scottish Under-21 open. These victories may prove minimal though, given Booth’s overall ambition - to become the world’s number one female golfer. Considering that she is ranked the top junior golfer in Europe, she is certainly moving in the right direction. There haven’t been a huge amount of British females emerging in the sporting world and hopefully this can now start to change, with Booth leading the way.
Like when any young sports star bursts onto the scene, the money they are set to earn is much discussed. Fellow female golfer Michelle Wie is earning £5m a year through endorsement deals with Nike and Sony. It is being touted that Britain’s version could potentially earn double this, with the likes of Adidas and Nike likely to be interested in the advertising power of Booth. She could be golf’s answer to Anna Kournakova, with one slight difference - she is actually good at her chosen sport.
Hopefully the main focus of Booth’s long career will be success on the golf course though, with money earned coming as a bonus to the many tournaments you would bet on her to win. It shouldn’t be about how marketable she is, or how much sports gear she can sell. It should be about how many birdies she can sink and how far she can drive the ball. Too often a young British sports star is placed under the media spotlight too much - just look at Lewis Hamilton - he is under ridiculous pressure every time he races and as a result has considered leaving Britain to help concentrate on his Formula One career.
Booth is, in a sense, taking similar precautions. She moved to America when she was 13 to develop her golfing skills at an academy in Florida and has since moved to Arizona where she works on her game for three hours a day. Something which seems to be paying off.
So, when placing your golf bets this year, how about taking a chance on this young Scottish golfer. Can she be the number one female golfer in the World by the time she is 20? If she continues to develop in the way she has since taking up golf at the age of 5, I wouldn’t be surprised. Especially if she continues to focus on her game, rather than her bank balance.
Once you get addicted to the greatest game in the world, it can become quite an expensive hobby. Golf clubs, clothes and playing the game can swallow up a big chunk of anyone’s income.
Because of this it’s worth looking out for second hand clubs and golf gear. EBay always has plenty of new and used golf clubs and accessories but it does carry risks. I have had both good and bad experiences with EBay and in my experience; they weren’t as helpful as I was led to believe when it came to making a complaint.
Therefore it’s better to buy clubs from a reliable source. Golfbidder is apparently, Europe’s largest stockist of quality used golf clubs. They are based in South-West London, but for those golfers not within driving distance, there is always their website - www.golfbidder.co.uk.
Golfbidder has an excellent reputation and every club you see on the website is ready for despatch from the Golfbidder HQ.
For those visiting the shop there is no risk. But for those using the internet to buy anything, let alone a second hand golf club, it is a concern that the club will be in the condition that you expect and pay for.
Well, Golfbidder give a full 12 month warranty - and a 7 day no-quibble money-back guarantee with all clubs. So as their website says, “You can test-run any of our clubs - and if you are not happy for any reason, simply return them within 7 days for a full refund.”
The clubs are either auctioned or offered as ‘Instant Buys’; and As I write this post, the website says - Golfbidder has 4730 golf clubs in stock today!
Please let me know of your experiences with Golfbidder, and of any other companies selling second-hand golf clubs online that you can recommend.
It’s only 10 weeks until the 75th Anniversary Numark British Par 3 Championship 2008
